Author: Lydia Zhao

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Recitation 2 Documentation

Circuit 1: Fade

This circuit was fairly simple to build, and the LED immediately turned on.

Circuit 2: ToneMelody

This circuit had a considerably smaller number of wires to attach to the breadboard, making it fairly easy to construct.

Circuit 3: Speed Game

This circuit took some time to construct, as there were 2 push buttons that required power from the circuit in order to function. 

Question 1:

Technology is embedded in our everyday lives, from the moment we wake up to the moment we fall asleep. We immediately pick up our phones, check our emails or social media, all through the use of technological inventions. The Fade circuit can be applied to when your iPhone turns on and off, how it is a gradual fading light as opposed to completely on to completely off. The toneMelody circuit can be applied to a washing machine. When the washing cycle is finished, a melody will play to let you know that your clothes are done washing (on some machines). The Speed Game circuit can be applied to the Japanese push button arcade games, where two people compete to press the joystick as quickly as they can. I define interaction as when two participants work and influence each other, or how one participant responds to another participant’s input. One example of an interactive project is the teamLab’s Infinity of Flowers, where viewers can touch the artwork and see the flowers dance. When one participant is doing an action, the artwork is responding to the participant’s input. 

Question 2:

We used the 10K resistor with the push button to ensure the power supply will not be overloaded with power.  We want to make sure the circuit will not be overcharged from the current.

Question 3:

If I had 100,000 LEDs, I think I would try to decorate my entire house entirely in LEDs, like a Christmas display. 

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Week 1: Recitation

In the circuit, the resistor is an electrical component that resists the flow of electricity, in order to control the flow of the current. The LED was used as a form of light source in the circuit, and was an indicator of whether the circuit was working properly or not. The capacitor was used to store the electricity while the current is flowing into them, and was also utilized to release energy. The voltage regulator is a system designed to maintain a constant voltage level. The variable resistor was used to adjust the electrical resistance in the circuit. The switch is used to control the flow of the current in a circuit. The speaker was used to convert the electrical signals given to it into sound signals, and to signify that the circuit was complete. 

The process of building the circuit was difficult, as we had to ensure that only the power and ground were connected to the energy, and ensuring the correct wires were placed in the same row as their correct destination. The circuit worked in the end, but it failed when the wires were connected to the wrong row, or when the ground power was not in the row where the energy was. The voltage regulator was not dispensing a constant voltage level to the rest of the board, so to fix the issue, we made sure the voltage regulator was parallel to the breadboard. Our speaker was not functioning, so we replaced it and it then worked. 

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After reading The Art of Interactive Design, I believe the circuits we built include interactivity in the way that two participants work and influence each other, or how one participant responds to another participant’s input. By designing and creating each part of the circuit, the circuit is then able to respond to our input, and give a signal that it is complete and working. By completing the circuit, it was able to give off a sound as a result of interacting with us pressing the switch. 

Interaction design and physical computing can be used to create interactive art, through the process of designing an interactive digital environment and the behind-the-scenes software and hardware to make art that viewers can physically interact with. One installment by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, titled “Infinity Mirrored Room – Filled with the Brilliance of Life” features mirrors that brilliantly reflect off of one another, filling the room with constantly changing lights and polka dots that move whenever viewers enter the room or when they look at another corner.